


Calere

by xylaria



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Rosemary and Thyme
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-17
Updated: 2015-10-17
Packaged: 2018-04-26 19:22:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5017270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xylaria/pseuds/xylaria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura really needs to work on her warming charms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Calere

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ijemanja](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ijemanja/gifts).



Laura squirmed, pulling the covers more tightly around her and discretely moving closer to the warmth emanating from Rosemary's side of the full bed. She wondered if she dared tuck her toes up against Rosemary’s legs, or if that would breech the careful boundaries they had set between them. Then again, it would serve her right for bringing them out to this godforsaken manor in the dead of winter. Who gardens in the middle of winter? But this manor had insisted that they needed things done now, never mind that there was very little they could plant with the ground frozen solid, less now that there was a blizzard roaring out side and sneaking cold drafts through the cracks in the ancient windows.

Laura wiggled again, moving until her cold toes could feel the heat emanating from Rosemary's calves. She did not know how Rosemary's side of the bed stayed so warm; Laura was the one with the insulation. And yet, no matter where they were, or how cold it was, Laura was always the one with scarves up to her ears and layers of coats, while Rosemary was completely comfortable in a hat and light jacket. Laura sighed. There was one way she could get warm, without rocking her carefully constructed relationship with Rosemary, though it would breach other barriers. Barriers with the life she had left behind when she had first married Nick. Not that she hadn't considered going back, but she'd spent most of her adult life in this world, it was where she was comfortable now.

After another five minutes of shivering under the pile of ancient and threadbare patchwork quilts, and feeling the tempting fingers of warmth emanating from Rosemary’s side of the bed, Laura decided she had had enough. Walls were going to be rocked, barriers were going to be breeched, but she was going to be warm! She reached her hand out from the minimal warmth of the blankets and dug through the bag she always kept close to hand, even after all these years. Just touching the smooth wood of her wand sent a tingle of warmth through her arm.

Laura had met Nick on a collaborative case between the Aurors and the Muggle police. He hadn't known what she was of course, just a special consultant pulled in for the case. She had fallen head over heels in love with him. They had gotten married and she had left the Wizarding wold behind. Her wand was the only magical item she had kept. She had only cast a handful of spells in the intervening years, almost none since the children had been old enough to know that tea cups weren't supposed to fly around the kitchen on their own. That both her children had been squibs had been both a blessing and a curse. She didn't have to tell Nick what she was, but she also had no one to share magic with. In the end, it hadn't mattered.

Pulling her wand under the blanket, Laura wracked her brain for the correct wand movement and incantation for a warming charm. Trying to still her shivering and move her wand correctly without tangling it under the covers, she formed the words clearly in her mind and twitched her wand. _Calere_ , she thought, as forcefully as she could.

And immediately sprang out of bed as the part of the quilt touching her wand caught on fire. All extinguishing charms immediately fled from her brain. Her desperate _Aguamenti_ was possibly more forceful than was needed, but it had the fire out in a moment. It also had the unfortunate effect of drenching Rosemary and waking her up. Laura discretely put the hand with her wand behind her back as a dripping Rosemary glared at her across the drenched bed.

“I think there was a leak.” Laura tried, even though the ceiling was completely untouched by water. Rosemary didn't even glance up.

“You’re a witch. And your warming charm is awful. Don’t you remember an extinguisher spell? Or did you not go to Hogwarts, Professor Flitwick taught those very early on.” Rosemary was babbling in the way she did whenever she got nervous, but Laura couldn’t find the words to interrupt her. When she had scrambled out of bed after being drenched, Rosemary had pulled out a thin dark piece of wood out of her pocket and was holding it pointed at Laura.

“You’re a witch.” Laura finally blurted out, horribly aware that she was not only stating the glaringly obvious, but was stating something that had already been said. Rosemary rolled her eyes and began to efficiently cast spells to dry the bed and clear up the water on the floor. When everything was dry, she straightened the rumbled covers, pulled them back, and cast a non-verbal warming charm over the entire bed.

“I think we have some things to talk about.” Rosemary said, motioning Laura to the bed and climbing in herself. Laura climbed under the covers, relishing the warm on her chilled skin and numbed toes. They lay in silence for a moment, side by side on their backs on the heavenly warm bed. As she began to thaw, Laura realized that there was something decidedly off about the whole scenario.

“Why didn’t you just cast a warming charm over the whole bed to begin with.” Laura asked, turning accusingly toward Rosemary. “It wouldn’t have been any more obvious than your side being so much warmer than mine.” Rosemary avoided her eye, staring resolutely at the many cracks in the plaster ceiling above them.

“Um. Well."

“Spit it out.” Laura growled. Rosemary grimaced.

“If your half of the bed were warm you wouldn’t cuddle up to me trying to get warm.” Rosemary finally said in a rush. Laura gaped at her. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t appropriate.” Rosemary said after a moment of Laura's stunned silence. “I’ll just make myself another bed out of that chair over there.” She began to sit up, letting a cold rush of air under the covers. Laura reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back down on the bed and propping her self up on her arm so she could look into Rosemary's face.

“You really wanted to cuddle?” Laura asked, barely able to contain the surge of hope and desire coursing through her. Rosemary nodded, still not meeting Laura's eyes. Laura reached out with her free hand and cupped Rosemary's check, gently turning her head so that she was facing Laura. She stayed there a moment, until Rosemary finally looked up and met Laura's eyes. Slowly, Laura leaned in and, when Rosemary didn’t pull away, kissed her gently on the lips.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a year,” Laura murmured as they parted.

“Why didn’t you?” Rosemary asked, then shook her head slightly, leaning more into the hand Laura still had on her face. “Silly question, the same reason I didn’t. I didn’t know if you felt the same way, and I didn’t want to put our friendship at risk.”

They sat there, just staring at each other for a minute, then Laura laughed. “What are the chances, after years of marriage to a muggle, I accidentally fall in love with a secret undercover herbology professor.”

"I'm not a secret undercover herbology professor!" Rosemary replied indignantly, then seemed to consider the question. “We must have been at Hogwarts together. You were Griffindor I assume.” Laura nodded. Then Rosemary's eyes widened as her brain finally processed with Laura had said. "In love?"

Laura nodded again, hoping that her big mouth hadn't botched things before they had even really started. 

"Well, then," And this time it was Rosemary who kissed Laura, and it was not a short kiss. The warming charm did not need to be renewed for the rest of the night.


End file.
